The tax rate in Garland is one of the higher in the Metroplex. There are two components that are added to get the total rate: Operations & Maintenance and Capital Improvement Projects. Operations and Maintenance are financed through the General Fund. The Capital Improvement Projects are financed through the Debt Services Fund, which is the debt from bond sales and other debt instruments and the interest.

As the chart below shows, Garland's O&M Tax Rate is lower than many comparable cities in our area and lower than the average across these cities.

However, our debt services tax rate is the highest among these same cities, 53% higher than their average. This is the debt that was approved by the voters, past Councils, and over a cent last year. There has been some upward pressure from the 2004 Bond Election, which was the largest in Garland's history, but the debt servivce tax rate has only risen a couple cents since the election. The O&M side rose 1.5¢ during the same period, specifically for police and fire expenditures. The debt has paid for streets, the Police and Courts Building, the new Fire Administration Building, Library improvements, and many other safety and quality of life improvements.

The City staff in budget presentations last year requested that we establish more cash reserves to be used to fund capital needs instead of issuing more debt, such as for computers and related technological needs. More cash was held in GP&L to offset future debt, too. The Council approved all these requests and the result has been curtailment of the rising debt.

Unfortunately, until last year, too many on the Council felt we could keep borrowing and we would pay for it with the Town Center and Bass Pro. Some of those campaigning in 2006 made the same statements. The sales tax incentives to the Town Center don't expire until almost 2018 and the sales tax and property tax incentives to Bass Pro are unlikely to expire until even later. Additionally, sales tax revenue is not being used to retire debt but to fund the growing labor and other expenses that our tax base is not funding.

We must grow the tax base, restrain increasing debt, and find even more ways to be innovative to reduce expenses.

The numbers to prove it are right in front of our faces.

There will be the same pressures this year and for the foreseeable future to continue funding capital projects. Finding the balances between curtailing taxes and growing the City will be strong challenges.

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